US middle school student suspended after 'Death Note' notebook sparks police probe

A middle school student in Massachusetts, US, was suspended for three days after school officials discovered a notebook containing the names of some of her classmates, prompting a police investigation.

  The incident took place at Chocksett Middle School in Sterling, Massachusetts, on 30 September. Staff found the notebook at around 4pm, after students had left for the day, according to IGN.com.

 School officials and police interviewed the student who owned the notebook and other students before concluding that it did not pose a credible threat.

However, the student was handed a three-day suspension.

 In a letter to the school community, principal Tina Boss said the student explained that the notebook was inspired by the anime television series "Death Note" and was not intended to threaten anyone.

" There was no indication that the notebook or its contents were intended as a threat toward the school or any particular student," Boss wrote.

 The Sterling Police Department said it was not seeking criminal charges in connection with the incident based on the information available at the time.

 Despite the findings, police maintained a presence on the school grounds on 6 October. According to a local news outlet, officials said they would continue to monitor the situation as they considered appropriate.

 The notebook is based on the central premise of "Death Note", a Japanese manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. In the story, a supernatural notebook belonging to a Shinigami, or death god, can kill anyone whose name is written in it.

 The series follows Light Yagami, a student who discovers the notebook and uses it to pursue his own vision of justice. Notebooks inspired by the series are also sold as merchandise, often featuring the "Death Note" title on their covers.

 However, the discovery of such a notebook containing classmates' names has raised concerns among some parents over how schools assess potential threats and protect students.

The mother of one of the students whose name appeared in the notebook criticised the school's decision to allow the suspended student to return after three days.

In a Facebook post, she questioned whether the safety measures put in place by the school would be enough to reassure the safety of her daughter, when she would have to share a classroom with the student who had written her name in the notebook.

 The Massachusetts incident is not the first time a "Death Note"-inspired notebook has prompted concern at a US school.

 In September 2024, teachers at an I Promise school in Akron, Ohio, discovered a homemade version of the notebook written on loose sheets of paper.

Although the incident did not lead to further action, parents whose children's names appeared in it also expressed dissatisfaction with how the situation was handled, given the recent history of the US with school shootings and other such acts of violence.